Vietnam is often described as the most assertive opponent of China’s expansion into the 3.5 million-square-km sea since around 2010. It competes with China to reclaim land in the Spratly chain and has criticized Beijing’s control of the Paracel Islands, which lie east of Vietnam and southwest of Hong Kong.
Michael Flynn, the national security adviser to President Trump, resigned late Monday over revelations about his potentially illegal contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States, and his misleading statements about the matter to senior Trump administration officials.
China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday warned Washington against challenging its sovereignty, responding to reports the United States was planning fresh naval patrols in the disputed South China Sea.
The South China Sea could heat up as the year goes on.
WASHINGTON: A US Navy P-3 plane and a Chinese military aircraft came close to each other over the South China Sea in an incident the Navy believes was inadvertent, a US official told Reuters on Thursday.
A Chinese bank branch established in the so-called Sansa city on Phu Lam island in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago is illegal, stated Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Hai Binh.
Former U.S., Australian officials say it’s “too late” and PLA assessment says China “cannot be optimistic”.
While America’s global carrier presence has diminished, China’s sole aircraft carrier has been transitioning from a training vessel to a combat ship.
China appears to have positioned “significant” weapons systems, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on all seven of the artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea, despite vowing it had no intention of militarising the archipelago, a US thinktank has claimed.
Chris Matlhako, a member of the Politburo of the South Africa Communist Party (SACP), said that the East Sea issue should be resolved by peaceful measures on the basis of international law.
Malaysia believes that all sides with sovereignty claims in the East Sea must solve disputes in line with international law, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in an interview with Japan’s Asian Nikkei Review on November 15.
